How Does Your Garden Grow?

“Moses said to YHWH, “But, never in my life have I been a man of eloquence,

either before or since you have spoken to your servant.” Ex 4:10

Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B: 

How Does Your Garden Grow? 

This Sunday Jesus introduces parables (Mark 4:26-34) by saying, "This is what the kingdom of God is like ..." Notice that Jesus is not speaking about actions when he describes the kingdom of God. It is not about a territory or a place or the afterlife in heaven. It is about God acting in the here and now and the parables are clues to how and where to look. In describing "what the kingdom of God is like" Jesus does not give a formula or definition. If he had, he would have restricted or confined "what the kingdom of God is like." By using parables, he taps into our amazing imaginations to help us discover the ways our God acts. If we had a definition we would want to say, "God only works in this way, in this place, in this institution." Just as there are no limits to our imaginings, so there are no limits to "what the kingdom of God is like" for it is a mystery to be live not solved. So, we ask, "What is the kingdom of God like?" In response Jesus tells us two parables. These parables are just two of the thirteen parables to be found in Mark's gospel. There are no limits to the possible and surprising ways God acts in our lives and in the lives of others.

Both parables begin in seeming insignificant and inconsequential ways: seed is scattered; a tiny mustard seed is planted. In the first parable the farmer does not know how the seed grows to harvest on its own accord. How much work did the farmer have to do? In this parable, seemingly, not very much. Jesus was a carpenter not a farmer and I know from my very limited experience that after planting, there is weeding, watering, fertilizing, etc. But Jesus is using an example from the lives of his listeners and plays with the details for his own purpose, telling them to, "Imagine this!" The parable speaks to our own experience and invites us to open our eyes to see God acting and present in our lives. It is reassuring to know how wonderfully God acts, using us disciples to plant life seeds which eventually will yield a harvest? We have lots of work to do in God's kingdom/reign. But this parable is a reminder that God is not limited or uninvolved in the necessary work that must be done for the kingdom to come. We are reminded by this parable that it is not all up to us. The seed itself grows on its own. God alone causes the growth and brings about a harvest! In his public speech, Jesus uses metaphor and story, while, in private, Mark says that Jesus was more direct. Was this to avoid saying something in public for which he could be charged with treasonous speech? The ultimate victory of the "kingdom of God" is sure, proceeding "automatically," and inexorably, without any effort from us, or any endorsement by us. In the meantime, those who follow do so by joining Jesus on the way by living out the "reign of God" in the beloved community. The beloved community is not to be organised hierarchically, but is, rather, a radical reversal of hierarchy. It is a community which is on a spiritual journey exemplified by respecting the human dignity of all people, especially the poor and downtrodden. It walks the way of the cross and not the way of glory.

No one example, illustration, or parable can sum up totally how our God is present and active in our midst. So, after presenting one parable, Mark places another before us. Often when the Bible speaks of God, it's in terms of God's awesome power and holiness. For the defeated people of Israel it was reassuring to believe and put their trust in the power of God, ready to act on their behalf. They would have expected that Jesus would present some powerful image for God's influence in the world. Instead, how startled his hearers must have been to hear his parable of the mustard seed. Jesus' parable is contrasted in the 'first testament' reading from Ezekiel (17:22-24) to the 'Lebanon cedar', and the presumption of human power. The mustard seed was a common weed and Jesus was saying that the reign of God is not far off like the mighty Lebanon cedar, but as close as every backyard and it is spreading like a weed. Ordinary people like us spread God's reign and that reign has the power to effect good in the world in surprising ways. If you have ever tried to get rid of weeds you know what a persistent they are. Just when you think you have conquered them they pop again! That's how persistent God's reign is, like a weed. If the kingdom of God is like a spreading weed, where do I look for it? Am I looking among the powerful and influential, inside or outside the church? We need our vision cleared, our expectations re-ordered if we want to uncover God's reign in our world. The two parables tell us we can miss God's actions in our midst, for we may be looking in the wrong places or clinging to our own expectations of who our God is and how God acts. The two parables suggest that in our search for God we had better be ready for a surprise and, if we are attuned through the parables, we will come to know, "What the kingdom of God is like

Third Sunday After Pentecost. Yr B. - Br. Simeon

Andre-Rublev's Saviour

Homily preached by Br. Simeon EFO at Springwood on Sunday 14^th June 2015: 

 

Third Sunday After Pentecost. Yr B.

“What the kingdom of God is like”

Gospel:  Mark 4:26-34

In the Name of the One God, +Father, +Son and +Holy Spirit. Amen

In preparing this sermon, a question formed in my mind which was;What can mustard seeds teach us about the kingdom of God?

The tiny mustard seed literally grew to be a tree which attracted numerous birds because they loved the little black mustard seed it produced. God's kingdom works in a similar fashion. It starts from the smallest beginnings in the hearts of men and women who are receptive to God's word. And it works unseen and causes a transformation from within. Just as a seed has no power to change itself until it is planted in the ground, so we cannot change our lives to be like God until God gives us the power of his Holy Spirit.

The Lord of the Universe is ever ready to transform us by the power of his Spirit.  The kingdom of God produces a transformation in those who receive the new life which Jesus Christ offers. When we yield to the Lord Jesus and allow his word to take root in us, our lives are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Paul the Apostle says, "we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us" (2 Corinthians 4:7).

Peter Chrysologous (400-450 AD), an early church father, explained how the “tree of the cross" spreads its branches throughout the world and grew into a worldwide community of faith offering its fruit to the whole world:

It is up to us to sow this mustard seed in our minds and let it grow within us into a great tree of understanding reaching up to heaven and elevating all our faculties; then it will spread out branches of knowledge, the pungent savour of its fruit will make our mouths burn, its fiery kernel will kindle a blaze within us inflaming our hearts, and the taste of it will dispel our unenlightened repugnance.

Yes, it is true: a mustard seed is indeed an image of the kingdom of God. Christ is the kingdom of heaven. Sown like a mustard seed in the garden of the virgin’s womb, he grew up into the tree of the cross whose branches stretch across the world.

Crushed in the mortar of the passion, its fruit has produced seasoning enough for the flavouring and preservation of every living creature with which it comes in contact.

As long as a mustard seed remains intact, its properties lie dormant; but when it is crushed they are exceedingly evident. So it was with Christ; he chose to have his body crushed, because he would not have his power concealed….

Christ became all things in order to restore all of us in himself. The man Christ received the mustard seed which represents the kingdom of God; as man he received it, though as God he had always possessed it. He sowed it in his garden that is in his bride, the Church. The Church is a garden extending over the whole world, tilled by the plough of the gospel, fenced in by stakes of doctrine and discipline, cleared of every harmful weed by the labour of the apostles, fragrant and lovely with perennial flowers: virgins’ lilies and martyrs’ roses set amid the pleasant verdure of all who bear witness to Christ and the tender plants of all who have faith in him.

Such then is the mustard seed which Christ sowed in his garden. When he promised a kingdom to the patriarchs, the seed took root in them; with the prophets it sprang up; with the apostles it grew tall; in the Church it became a great tree putting forth innumerable branches laden with gifts.

And now we too must take the wings of the psalmist’s dove, gleaming gold in the rays of divine sunlight, and fly to rest for ever among those sturdy, fruitful branches. No snares are set to trap you there; fly off, then, with confidence and dwell securely in its shelter.

In ending this sermon, I found myself once again with a question that grew in my mind, which I now leave with you to ponder....

Do you allow the seed of God's word to take deep root in your life and transform you into a fruit-bearing disciple of Jesus Christ?

Amen.

Ascension of 'The Lord' Year B: Following the Footsteps of the Spirit.

“Moses said to YHWH, “But, never in my life have I been a man of eloquence,either before or since you have spoken to your servant.” Ex 4:10

Ascension of 'The Lord' Year B: 
Following the Footsteps of the Spirit.

What is the meaning of ascension for twenty-first-century friends of Jesus? We do not have monarchs; our cosmology doesn't allow us to believe in a three tiered universe with God and Jesus at the top; our understanding of God and nations is more inclusive than the writers of the psalms would allow. The 'Ascended' Jesus calls us to go beyond the boundaries of the temple and Jews, to ALL peoples and nations, beyond geography and physics. Ascension draws us to practice walking with mystery, without understanding; it focus us on the physically absent Jesus and the invisible present Spirit. Ascension encourage us to let go of what preceded our story and look forward to the next one. The story of Jesus' life on earth is concluded but his influence continues in us and through us. And there is that statement that Jesus will return in a similar way. How does Jesus come to us? Does Jesus "come again" NOW? People have become impatient and many even left the church because of sermons on ‘heaven up there’ –but scripture does in fact call us to see the world differently where love of neighbour and God’s compassionate love come together.
Today’s feast tells how the early church understood the resurrection and coped with the now apparent absence of Jesus who showed himself sporadically. One theme in the Acts of the Apostles (1:1-11) reading is the promise to the disciples, ‘You will receive power’. Jesus’ absence led to questions as to where he went. Who will guide them now? What do they do next? But when Jesus says that they will 'receive power' he saying that they will love as he loved; that they would have the power to make the Kingdom of God present in the world by their love for the hungry, the naked, the powerless and homeless; in resisting those who dominate, exploit, and treat others unjustly; by giving their lives for others; by persevering in the face of difficulty and opposition; by doing things they never thought possible.
We find the Spirit's Power at work in a Jesus disciple like - Good King Wenceslas looked out on the feast of Stephen (December 28), when the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even...When a poor man came in sight, gath'ring winter fuel... The good King asks his page where the poor person lives so they can take meat and wine for him and his family to eat. Page and monarch forth they went. Forth they went together. Through the rude wind's wild lament and the bitter weather. As the king and page go through the snow storm the page becomes frightened by the strength of the storm. Sire, the night is darker now and the wind blows stronger. Fails my heart, I know not how, I can go no longer. During the past six weeks of the "Easter Season' we have seen how the 'Footsteps of the Spirit' have been seen in the lives of the first apostles and can be seen in us as we exercise the power to love given us by Christ. The power of the Spirit helps us carry on the mission of Jesus like the 10th century King Wenceslas – a way that involves compassion, respect, sensitivity to peoples needs. These footprints bring the presence of the Kingdom of God (Mark 16:15-20), seen when our relationships are based on 'the signs' of equality, compassion, respect and freedom (better than picking up snakes). These footprints become flesh when we work at overcoming inequities. These footprints are seen as we try to embody what is at the heart of God: an option for the poor. What must be the anguish in God’s heart who longs for Afghanistan, Pakistan Libya, Syria, Iraq and other places of suffering – to walk the footsteps of peace? The witness of any disciple of Jesus is to use the 'Spirit's Power' to love, by working for justice so that peace can be a reality.
Despite difficulties of the weather, the good King Wenceslas with deep faith and fearless in the face of the snow storm invites the faith-faltering page to walk in his footsteps. Mark my footsteps, my good page, tread thou in them boldly. Thou shalt find the winter's rage, freeze thy blood less coldly. As we all journey as disciples we find that we need others to remind us that as individuals we don't have it all but together we can have it all. So, In his mater's steps he trod, where the snow lay dinted. Heat was in the very sod, which the saint had printed. Therefore, Christians all, be sure, wealth and rank possessing. You who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing. Jesus is among us and working in a creative, liberating, and supporting partnership with us. If we want to find God we have to look in the places where the Spirit works in people creating, liberating, and helping. We cannot look to Jesus to do, what is now our responsibility. Jesus has left his footprints like good King Wenceslas for us to follow in. Let us walk the talk.